Project ‘Magi’: Google in a sprint to take on Bing with AI-powered search engine

Google is reportedly working on a new search engine powered by artificial intelligence technology, aiming to provide users with a more personalised experience.

After the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT last November, Google claimed that it didn’t want to be the first because it “wanted to do it right”, referring to the rapid adoption of AI by several tech majors.

However, it looks like the tech giant is now rushing to revamp its products with the latest AI technology in view of competition from Micorosoft’s Bing search engine, which is now powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4, giving it an edge over Google.


Also read: After threat from Samsung, Google scrambles for new AI-powered search engine

According to a New York Times (NYT) report, Google is working on a new project called 'Magi' after learning that smartphone maker Samsung was considering replacing Google search with Microsoft Bing as the default search engine on its handsets.

The report said this caused “panic” at Google as it may lead to a $3 billion hit to its revenue.

What is project ‘Magi’?

The threat from Samsung has prompted Google to focus on developing and adding more AI features to its search engine.

The Magi project is essentially Google Search with the power of AI.

According to the NYT report, designers, engineers, and executives are trying to work on the technology in ‘sprint rooms’ where they have been tweaking and testing the latest technology.

Google's new AI-powered search is expected to provide a more personalised search output. The new search engine would “learn what users want to know based on what they’re searching.”

However, the new search engine is still in the early stages of development, with about 160 engineers working on the project.

Google may initially release Magi to select users in May, likely at the company’s annual Google i/O developers conference.

In a statement, Google spokeswoman Lara Levin said the company was excited about bringing new AI-powered features to search and would share more details soon.